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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/annalsofoldfortcOOparkrich 


laitUmm  STiynrnton  Parker,  M.  B. 


^s  n  boy  of  stbtxxittn  years  nnh  i\\t  yoxm^est 
first-class  ^ospttal  ^tcfoarh  e6er  appotnteh  in 
%  p.  ^.  ^rmy,  1867-8.  ^txbm^  iaxi\\  i\\t 
3rh,  p.  ^,  Cavalry  on  tl|C  plains  bwrin^  i{\t 
(3lttbtan  ^ar,  anh  at  JJfort  CutnntingB  ^efo 
Mexico,  feitli  tl|c  125tl|.  ^Bgt.  p.  ^.  Coloreh 
droops,  ^ppotni merit  stgneh  by  General  M. 
^.  drant,  33.  ^.  ^rmy,  JIfebruary   1st,  1857. 


Annala  of  (§ih  Jnrt  OIummtngB 

Waimm  SIbnrntnn  Parker,  M.  1. 


Butbor  of  pergonal  Experiences  amonfl  our  Vlortb  Bmerfcan  f  nbians 

•RecorOe  of  tbe  association  of  Beting  Bssistant  Surgeons  TH.S.  Brmis  etc. 

#ormerli2  Beting  Bssistant  Surgeon,  "Ul.  S.  Brm^, 

BnD  Surgeon  Til.  S.  fn^ian  Service: 

Companion,  1st  Glass,  ©rDer  of  flnDian  llBlars,  in.  S. 

/iSember  flationalCommittee  Vlationalf  ndianTRIlar  tDeterans  Bssociation 

^ormerli?  Bbjutant  Societis  V)eterans  f  nMan  TKIlars,  etc. 


pttiiliHll^d  bQ  ttft  wxtifsn  at 

ISortifmaptan,  JHaaaarl^uB^tts 

A.  9.  191E 


Bthuutmn 


To  the  memory  of  the  Officers  and  Enlisted  Men  of  the 

whose  faithful  and  gallant  service,  at  Fort  Cummings,  New 
Mexico,  during  the  Apache  Indian  War,  in  the  60's,  won 
the  respect  of  their  Indian  foes,  and  the  admiration  of  their 
friend,  the  author. 

Northampton,  Mass. 
February,  1916. 


Copyrighted  by  the 

Author  &  Publisher 

W.  Thornton  Parker,  M.  D. 

1916 


a^mrl  eiummtttgfi,  '^m  Mtxxtxt  IBBt 


Fort  Cummings  !  What  memories  cling  to  its 
short  but  honorable  record.  Staunch  and  strong 
it  seemed  to  derive  inspiration  from  the  glorious 
hills  arid  mountains  at  whose  feet  it  nestled. 
Here  it  stood,  a  shelter  to  its  faithful  garrisons, 
and  a  haven  of  refuge  to  the  weary  and  imperiled 
emigrants  and  travelers  who  hastened  to  it  for 
succor  and  relief. 

Twenty  years  of  existence;  short,  indeed,  a* 
compared  with  older  and  stronger  forts  over  which 
has  floated  the  stars  and  stripes  of  our  beloved 
land.  Designed  by  Gen.  George  B.  McClellan 
of  the  United  States  Army,  it  presented  an  uni- 
que and  military  appearance  and  was  well  adapted 
for  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  constructed. 

Fort  Cummings  in  Latitude  32<>26'n,  Altitude 
4778- was  located  at  Cook's  Spring,  and  near  the 
southern  entrance  to  (book's  Canyon  guarding  But- 
terfields  trail  to  the  Miembres  River.  Cook's 
Peak  of  the  Cook's  range,  one  of  those  isolated 
peaks  peculiar  to  this  region,  located  at  the 
southern  end  of  the  Black  or  Miembres  Mountains 
towered  above  the  reservation — the  snow  clad 
Sentinel  of  the  Southwest,  or  as  the  soldiers  fa- 
miliarly called  it  "Old  Baldy."     This  grand  old 


peak  has  an  altitude  of  from  ten  to  twelve  thou- 
sand feet  and  is  the  highest  land  mark  in  Southern 
New  Mexico.  The  reservation  was  established 
in  what  is  now  Luna  County,  October  2nd.  1863. 
The  reservation  was  declared  by  the  President 
in  1870. 

The  post  was  abandoned  in  August  1873,  and 
reoccupied  in  1880.  It  was  abandoned  again  on 
October  3,  1886,  and  turned  over  to  the  Interior 
Department  on  October  2,  1891.  A  pyramid  of 
stones  was  erected  at  each  mile  of  the  boundary. 
Cook's  Peak  is  about  seven  miles  northwest  of 
the  post.  The  site  of  the  flag  staff  was  in  the 
center  of  the  reservation  as  originally  planned, 
but  this  was  added  to  by  authority  of  the  Presi- 
dent, November  26,  1880. 

I  am  indebted  to  my  friend,  Edward  Penning- 
ton of  Deming,  New  Mexico,  who  has  known 
this  section  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  who 
has  patiently  labored  to  preserve  the  historical 
records  of  this  interesting  region,  for  much  valu- 
able information  concerning  this  old  fort. 

It  is  recorded  that  as  early  as  1853,  Captain 
(yook,  U.  S.  Army  with  a  command  of  the  famous 
Second  Dragoons  of  Mexican  war,  fame  came 
down  into  this  section  of  New  Mexico  on  an  ex- 
ploring expedition.  The  advance  guard  under  a 
lieutenant  found  the  spring  and  camping  ground 
at  the  base  of  a  bald  and  snow  capped  mountain, 
and  named  it  '*Mount  Republic,"  but  when  the 
main    command    some    days    later  reached    the 


spring,  the  commanding  officer  named  the  peak, 
the  canyon  and  this  portion  of  the  Miembres  Moun- 
tains, Cook's  Peak,  Cook's  Spring,  Cook's  Canyon 
and  Cook's  Range  which  names  have  been  retain- 
ed to  the  present  time  "thus  making  record  that 
Captain  Cook  of  the  2nd  U.  S.  Dragoons  once 
lived,  and  had  his  being  in  this  important  locality. 
After  the  mustering  out  of  Co.  B  1st  California 
Volunteers,  and  the  125th  Colored  Infantry 
Volunteers,  and  the  38th  U.  S.  Colored  Infantry, 
detachments  of  the  8th  and  4th  U.  S.  Cavalry 
formed  the  garrisons.  One  of  the  last  command- 
ants was  Captain  Adna  R.  Chaffee  U.S.  Army, 
afterward  Chief  of  Staff  U.  S.  Army.  After  the 
old  fort  was  turned  over  to  the  Interior  Depart- 
ment by  which  it  was  leased  to  the  Carpenter, 
Stanley  Cattle  Company,  the  stately  old  battle- 
ment with  its  medieval  watch  tower  and  grand 
salleporte,  degenerated  into  a  cattle  corral."  "The 
tall  flag  staff  from  which  Old  Glory  reflected  the 
rising  and  setting  sun  for  more  than  twenty  years 
of  stormy  strife,  was  chopped  for  the  fuel  to 
heat  the  branding  irons.  Now  only  traces  of 
the  adobe  walls  are  left  to  mark  the  site  of 
what,  at  one  time  was  the  best  walled  fort  in 
New  Mexico  or  Arizona." 

A  somewhat  pretentious  front  of  "doby"  walls 
with  archway  entrance  and  look-out  above  it,  and 
within  on  either  side  of  the  arch  were  the  guard 
rooms  and  prison  cells  with  some  rooms  above  in 
the  tower. 


Alt()«rolIu'r  the  Fort  presented  an  ancient  look 
which  mjiclc  the  American  flag  floating  from  the 
tall  flag  staff  in  the  center  of  the  parade  ground 
look  almost  out  of  place.  These  *'doby"  walla 
about  twelve  feet  in  height  formed  a  huge  square 
against  which  within  the  enclosure  were  erected 
the  various  buildings  occupied  by  the  garrison, 
i.  e.,  the  barracks,  the  hospital,  the  officers'  quar- 
ters, the  quarter-master  and  commissary  depart- 
ments,etc.  Opposite  from  the  main  entrance  there 
was  a  door  going  out  to  the  hay  stacks  in  the  rear. 
The  sentries  walked  their  beats  day  and  night  at 
both  entrances  and  there  were  also  guards  at 
the  doors  of  the  quarter-master  and  commissary 
departments.  To  the  rear  of  the  fort  were  huge 
piles  of  hay  stored  for  the  use  of  the  cavalry  and 
the  quarter-master's  department.  As  Fort  Cum- 
mings  was  the  only  walled  fort  of  New  Mexico  in 
the  sixties, its  situation  at  the  mouth  of  Cook's  Can- 
.yon,  and  upon  the  trail  to  Arizona  and  Central 
New  Mexico  which  it  guarded,  gave  it  consider- 
able importance. 

The  "doby"  buildings  were  low  structures  with 
flat  .roofs,  built  against  the  inner  walls  of  the 
fort.  There  were  no  outside  windows  even  in 
the  hospital.  All  the  windows  looked  upon  the 
parade  ground — there  were  of  course  no  outside 
windows  in  the  fort  walls.  The  floors  were 
of  dirt.  In  some  rooms  army  blankets  were 
fastened  down  with  wooden  pegs  for  carpets. 
In  one  corner  of  each  room  was  a  large  open 
fireplace.     The  legs  of  the  bedsteads  were  in  good 


sized  tins  containing  water  to  prevent  large  red 
ants  from  crawling  upon  the  beds.  Overhead 
we  nailed  up  rubber  blankets,  so  that  scorpions, 
centipedes,  and  tarantulas  would  slip  off  on  to  the 
floor,  and  be  less  likely  to  fall  on  the  sleeper. 
Rattlesnakes  got  into  our  store  rooms  and  into 
any  open  boxes,  or  among  blankets  and  clothing. 

In  1867  when  the  writer  was  stationed  at  Cum- 
mings  the  old  civil  war  regiment  of  veterans  the 
One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  United  States  Col- 
ored Volunteers,  which  had  seen  splendid  service 
in  the  Civil  War,  was  stationed  there  together  with 
a  detachment  of  that  gallant  old  regiment, theThird 
United  States  Cavalry.  The}-  had  taught  their 
Apache  enemies  to  respect  their  soldierly  (juali- 
ties  in  several  sharp  encounters.  The  good  old 
Fort  was  a  lonely  place  to  live  in.  To  the  west 
and  south-west  stretched  the  limitless  prairie, 
dreary  and  desolate.  A  short  distance  opposite 
the  archway  was  the  sutler's  ranch  where  was  the 
general  store  and  the  officers'  mess.  In  the  di- 
rection of  the  entrance  of  the  Canyon  was  the 
famous  Cook's  Spring  where  a  few  stunted  trees 
were  the  only  green  things  visible  in  the  land- 
scape save  the  everlasting  mesquite  bushes. 

From  the  spring  flows  a  bounteous  supply  of 
good  water.  It  was  the  only  water  between 
Mason's  ranch  and  the  Miembres  river.  Bell,  in 
his  excellent  record  of  events  in  this  section  in 
1867-8  describes  Fort  Cummings  as  "A  charming 
little  fort  enclosed  in  a  square  palisade  protecting 


(^ook's  Can  von."  We  who  were  stationed  there 
in  those  perilous  times  found  little  that  was 
'•charming"  about  it,  but  harassed  and  anxious 
parties  forced  to  proceed  through  this  glooni}^ 
region  were  glad  enough  to  find  protection  from 
its  faithful  defenders.  Cook's  Canyon  was  in  it- 
self a  '* journey  of  death"  six  miles  or  more  in 
length,  and  with  a  gloomy  gorge  of  four  miles  to 
add  to  its  terrors.  It  is  a  typical  New  Mexican 
Canyon  upon  whose  rugged  sides  as  late  as  186^ 
were  to  be  found  the  skeletons  of  federal  and 
confederate  soldiers  who  fought  a  battle  in  it& 
lonely  fastnesses.  Here  too  in  this  Canyon  many 
an  emigrant  train,  and  travellers,  and  hunters,  as 
well  as  soldiers  of  the  regular  army,  have  gone  to 
their  deaths  at  the  hands  of  the  cruel  Apaches. 
It  was  in  this  same  Canyon  that  a  stage-coach 
carrying  six  Americans  fell  into  an  Indian  am- 
bush. Their  horses  having  been  killed,  the  tra- 
vellers turned  the  stage  over  on  its  side,  and 
fought  for  days  holding  off  their  enemies  who 
were  under  the  immediate  command  of  the  famous 
Apache  chief,  '*Cochies,"  until  at  last  famished 
and  exhausted  from  lack  of  water,  their  ammuni- 
tion expended,  the  Indians  closed  in  upon  them, 
and  in  a  deadly  hand  to  hand  battle  the  Americans 
perished.  Cochies  is  said  to  have  declared  that 
with  a  hundred  warriors  as  brave  as  those  Amer- 
icans he  could  have  driven  all  the  pale-faces  west 
of  the  Mississippi  back  to  their  homes  where  they 
belonged. 


This  was  a  famous  old  Canyon, and  many  adven- 
tures come  to  mind  as  I  recall  '*01d  Baldy,"more 
often  snow-capped  than  not,  rising  as  a  veritable 
sentinel  of  the  south-west  and  towering  high 
above  the  little  garrison  of  Fort  Cummings  so 
often  at  the  mercy  of  its  Apache  enemies. 

It  is  the  passage  westward  through  the  Miem- 
bres  Mountains  known  as  Cook's  Canyon  which 
opens  upK)n  the  vast  plain,  the  Madre  plateau. 

Fort  Cummings  was  the  protector  of  Cook's 
Canyon.  The  tales  told  of  this  gorge  in  the  six- 
ties where  so  many  massacres  were  perpetrated 
by  the  Indians  were  gruesome  enough. 

The  Miembres  Apaches  with  everlasting  hatred 
killed  with  their  silent  arrows  every  white  man 
they  could  find.  Cook's  Canyon  was  one  of  their 
favourite  spots,  and  it  is  said  that  as  many  as  four 
hundred  emigrants  and  soldiers  have  lost  their 
lives  in  that  short  four  mile  gorge. 

The  terrors  of  Cook's  Canyon  which  Pass  Fort 
Cummings  protected,  is  thus  described  by  Mr. Bell 
in  1867.  *' Hundreds  of  miles  before  we  reached 
Cook's  Canyon  I  listened  with  anxiety  to  the  stories 
told  me  by  frontiers  men  about  the  dreadful  mas- 
sacres perpetrated  by  the  Indians  in  that  dread 
gorge.  It  was  said  that  even  soldiers  dared  not 
stir  a  mile  from  the  post,  and  that  it  was  just  a 
toss  up  whether  any  traveller  got  through  alive. 
These  reports  were  only  the  surviving  echoes  of 
events  which  have  made  Cook's  Canyon  and  the 
Miembres  Mountains  memorable  in  the  annals  of 


New  Mexican  massacres.  Cook's  emigrant  road 
was  dreadfully  roundabout ;  and  the  sufferings 
of  the  emigrants  from  want  of  water,  and  loss 
of  their  stock,  might  well  form  a  subject  for  one 
of  Majne  Reid's  novels." 

A  settler  in  the  sixties  stated  that  he  had  count- 
ed nine  skeletons  while  passing  through  the 
Canyon,  and  the  graves  and  heaps  of  stones  which 
used  to  fringe  the  trail  will  long  bear  record  of 
those  dreadful  times. 

In  1867  the  military  authorities  caused  detach- 
ments of  soldiers  to  collect  the  bones  in  the 
Canyon  and  to  bury  them  in  the  post  cemetery. 

In  the  office  of  the  Post  Hospital  we  had  a 
large  fine  skull  which  had  been  bleached  by  ex- 
posure of  *'wind,  w^eather  and  wolves."  This 
skull  had  a  large  hole  in  the  occipital  region  more 
than  an  inch  in  diameter,  which  was  supposed  to 
have  been  made  by  a  tomahawk  in  the  hands  of 
an  Apache. 

**The  topography  of  New  Mexico  is  said  to  be 
composed  of  lofty  plateaus  crossed  by  mountain 
ranges  enclosing  broad  valleys.  Two  divisions 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  prominent :  that  on 
the  East,  and  higher,  ending  abruptly  near  Santa 
Fe  ;  the  Western  or  Sierra  Madre  Range,  passing 
through  in  a  series  of  lower  and  often  detached 
mountains  to  join  the  Sierra  Madre  Range  of 
Mexico. 

High  table  lands,  isolated  peaks  and  deep  can- 
yons  characterize   the   western  side.      The  Rio 


8 


Orande  Valley  descends  from  an  elevation  of  near- 
ly six  thousand  feet  near  the  Colorado  border  to 
three  thousand  feet  in  the  80uth.  Several  moun- 
tains have  an  elevation  of  twelve  thousand  feet. 

Bell  states  that  in  answer  to  the  question, 
^' Where  is  the  central  range  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains"? his  answer  is,  *'nowhereI"  There  is  no 
continuous  central  chain  whatever.  The  so  call- 
ed Rocky  Mountain  system,  from  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  United  States  to  their  southern 
termination,  consists  usually  of  two  chains  of  the 
* 'Summit  Plateau,"  and  separating  it  from  the 
plains  on  either  side. 

The  eastern  and  western  chains  communicate 
by  means  of  transverse  ridges  at  irregular  distan- 
ces, thus  cutting  up  the  '*  Summit  Plateau"  lying 
between  them  into  a  succession  of  isolated  plains 
or  *' parks"  of  great  elevation. 

The  word  *'park"  in  Rocky  Mountain  phraseo- 
logy has  a  specific  signification,  and  is  used 
exclusively  to  designate  those  lofty,  well  watered 
plains,  or  prairies,  to  be  found  all  along  the 
**Summit  Plateau"  shut  in  on  all  sides  by  moun- 
tains. 

Gradually  the  Summit  Plateau  widens  out,  and 
sinks  to  the  southward,  until  it  can  no  longer  be 
recognized  as  a  distinct  table-land. 

Along  the  main  lines  of  travel  (1867)  through- 
out the  whole  western  country,  at  distances  from 
sixty  to  three  hundred  miles  apart  the  United 
States  Government  was  obliged  to  maintain   a 


great  number  of  little  military  establishments 
termed  * 'forts".  In  many  instances  not  a 
white  man  lived  in  the  intervening  country,  and 
yet,  without  them,  overland  travel  would  have 
been  impossible.  Too  thinly  garrisoned  to  wage 
aggressive  war  against  the  red-men,  they  afford- 
ed the  only  protection  the  emigrant  or  traveller 
had  to  hope  for,  on  the  way.  From  these  gar- 
risons, military  operations  and  expeditions  were 
frequently  fitted  out  by  commands  detailed  for 
that  purpose  marching  f  om  the  larger  posts  like 
Leavenworth,  Riley,  Harker,  Wallace,  Union, 
etc.,  containing  spacious  storehouses  filled  with 
munitions  of  war.  Cavalry  detachments  were 
repeatedly  sent  out  from  these  little  forts  like 
Cummings  to  relieve  and  rescue  emigrant  trains, 
resisting  fierce  Indian  attacks,  and  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  these  garrisons  were  viciously  attacked 
and  forced  to  battle  for  existence  when  ammuni- 
tion was  at  a  low  ebb,  every  possible  assistance 
was  promptly  supplied,  often  at  great  hazard  to 
the  safety  of  garrisons. 

During  1867-8,  notwithsanding  the  general 
Indian  war  existing  through  Kansas,  Colorado, 
Indian  territory,  and  Southern  New  Mexico,  long 
ox  trains  heavily  laden  with  goods,  often  eight}^ 
wagons  in  a  train,  each  wagon  carrying  six  to 
eight  thousand  pounds  drawn  by  eight,  sometimes 
ten,  yoke  of  oxen  with  three  *'bull  whackers"  for 
each  wagon  "to  help  them  along"  with  their  heavy 
leather  thongs,  ventured  along  the  Santa  F^  trail. 


10 


The  spring  grass  of  1867  was  the  earthly  sign 
that  now  was  the  time  for  warriors  to  get  busy. 

Never  before  had  hostility  to  the  **pale  faces," 
raged  so  fiercely  in  the  hearts  of  the  savage  In- 
dians, in  the  western  territories.  Never  had  so 
large  a  combination  of  tribes  been  formed  to 
drive  the  roadmakers  and  soldiers  back  of  the 
Mississippi.  From  Dakota  to  the  borders  of 
Texas  almost  every  tribe  hadp  ut  on  war  paint, 
and  had  mounted  their  war  steeds. 

The  38th  U.  S.  Colored  Infantry  had  certainly 
had  its  share  of  troubles.  Recruited  largely  from 
Georgia  negi'oes,  they  had  gone  through  all  the 
usual  trials  of  recruits  :  they  had  marched  all  the 
way  across  the  Great  Plains,  and  had  experienced 
the  usual  privations  and  dangers  incident  to  the 
the  Santa  Fe  trail  in  1867.  To  make  matters 
still  worse  another  deadly  foe  they  had  not  reck- 
oned with,  cholera,  attacked  them.  The  mor- 
tality had  been  large  in  spite  of  the  best  army 
medical  care,  and  even  the  good  surgeon  and  his 
wife  had  fallen  victims.  So  when  they  reached  the 
lonely  Apache-infested  Fort  Cummings  with  no- 
thing but  the  hard  work  of  garrison  life  and  con- 
stant vigil,  with  amusement  and  diversion  almost 
wholly  wanting,  no  wonder  the  strange  new  life 
developed  discontent  which  led  to  plottings  and 
schemes  for  almost  any  change. 

These  more  or  less  ignorant  colored  soldiers 
had  been  bouyed  with  delusive  hopes  on  leaving 
the  fertile  lands  of  Georgia,  and  found  themselves 


11 


in  this  dreary  prison-like  abode  exposed  to  all 
the  discomforts  of  a  frontier  station,  and  to  all  the 
dangers  incident  to  contact  with  a  powerful  tribe 
of  merciless  Apaches  forever  on  the  war  path. 
It  was  enough  to  sadden  the  hearts  of  the  best 
white  troops. 

The  Veteran  Volunteers  with  their  gallant 
officers  had  inarched  away  ;  and  with  the  except-^ 
ion  of  their  own  officers  and  a  detachment  of  the 
3d  IT.  S.  Regular  Cavalr}^  and  some  white  quar- 
ter-master employees,  there  were  no  other  white 
men  to  aid  in  preserving  order. 

Tn  the  early  days  of  colored  troops  in  the 
regular  army,  to  get  the  best  results,  it  wa& 
essential  that  white  troops  should  be  on  duty  in 
the  same  garrison  so  that  discipline  could  be 
enforced  Avhen  necessary.  It  was  a  decidedly 
risky  experiment  to  attempt  making  soldiers  of 
farmer  slaves.  They  needed  the  object  lesson  of 
contact  with  white  troops,  and  being  of  an  imita- 
tive disposition  the  colored  man  took  the  white 
soldiers  as  his  pattern,  and  carefully  watched 
every  gesture  and  movement  with  inquisitive 
concern.  Recruited  from  the  most  dangerous 
and  shiftless  of  the  freed  negroes  they  were  natu- 
rally lazy  and  disinclined  to  do  the  work  required 
of  them.  They  spent  their  leisure  time  in 
gambling,  drinking  and  quarrelling,  that  is  to 
say,  many  of  them  did  so.  Every  possible  pun- 
ishment employed  for  discipline  in  the  frontier 
posts  was  inflicted  upon  them  to  control  their 


12 


evil  propensities.  They  were  stood  on  barrels, 
they  were  "bucked"  and  gagged,  they  were  march- 
ed about  the  garrison  with  heavy  planks  tied 
to  their  backs  bearing  the  word  '  'gambler"  marked 
in  chalk.  Everything  was  done  to  discipline 
them,  every  means  taken  to  make  soldiers  of 
them.  But  so  rapidly  did  the  mutinous  spirit 
develop  in  the  command,  that  only  by  the  mer- 
est chance  was  a  tragedy  averted.  Through  the 
confession  of  a  maid  servant  it  was  discovered 
that  these  colored  soldiers  had  entered  into  a  plot 
to  kill  every  white  man  in  the  garrison,  to  capture 
the  horses  and  such  property  as  they  might  desire, 
and  to  carry  off  the  officers'  wives  as  their  slaves. 

The  details  were  so  completed  that  every  match 
was  to  be  dampened  so  that  no  light  could  be 
made,  and  the  caps  were  to  be  removed  from 
every  revolver.  With  remarkable  coolness  the 
the  officers  prepared  to  face  the  terrible  situation. 
We  must  remember  that  this  was  before  the 
telephone  had  come  into  use  and  there  was  no 
telegraph  station  in  the  garrison,  and  no  railroads 
in  the  territory.  The  nearest  railroad  station 
was  at  Fort  Hayes  in  Kansas,  hundreds  of  miles 
away. 

A  rumor  was  purposely  circulated  that  the  pay 
master  would  be  expected  within  a  day  or  two. 
The  colored  soldiers  were  ordered  to  be  mustered 
on  the  parade  ground  without  arms.  It  had  been 
previously  arranged  that  the  detachment  of  the 
3d  Cavalry  (white)  were  to  secretly  occupy  the 
quarters  of  the  colored  men  when  they  formed 


13 


mi  th(^  parade,  and  to  prevent  at  all  hazard  their 
returning  to  their  quarters  to  secure  their  rifles. 
The  two  Napoleon  guns  had  been  loaded  to 
the  muzzle  with  grape  and  canister,  and  two  of 
the  officers  had  been  detailed  to  turn  the  guns- 
upon  the  mutineers  should  occasion  require. 

The  commanding  officer,  with  the  officers  and 
white  non-commissioned  officers  of  the  garrison, 
appeared  before  the  command.  The  commanding 
officer  after  commenting  on  the  militarj^  penalties 
for  mutinous  conduct,  then  and  there  announced 
to  them  that  their  plot  had  been  fully  discovered ^ 
and  he  demanded  the  immediate  surrender  of  the 
ring-leaders.  The  colored  soldiers  rushing  from 
their  ranks  started  for  their  quarters  where  they 
expected  to  find  their  rifles.  They  were  brought 
to  a  sudden  halt  by  finding  the  doors  closed,  and 
at  the  windows  stood  the  faithful  3d  Cavalry-men 
with  their  carbines  leveled  at  them.  Turning, 
they  saw  that  the  officers  had  drawn  their  revol- 
vers and  that  the  guns  were  pointed  threateningly 
in  their  direction.  In  terror  many  fell  upon 
their  knees  and  begged  for  mercy,  others  pro- 
tested their  innocence,  and  pointed  out  the  ring- 
leaders who  were  quickly  secured  with  the 
assistance  of  the  guard  from  the  guard-house, 
which  had  been  carefully  selected  from  the  men 
who  could  be  depended  upon.  The  mutineers 
were  confined  and  court-martialed.  In  some 
instances  the  ring-leaders  were  even  '*bucked" 
and  gagged.     In  a  short  time  the  disturbance  was 


14 


thoroughly   quelled   and    the    post   resumed    its 
usual  order  of  things. 

After  the  writer  had  been  ordered  north,  upon 
his  arrival  in  Santa  Fe,  he  was  informed  that  a 
serious  attempt  at  mutiny  had  been  fortunately 
frustrated,  and  the  narrator  furnished  the  inci- 
dents as  here  reported,  which  may  have  been 
overdrawn. 

From  such  discouraging  beginnings  developed 
a  military  organization  of  brave  and  efficient  sol- 
diers, who  afterwards  made  excellent  records  for 
themselves  in  many  deeds  of  gallantry  in  battles 
with  the  Indians.  No  longer  do  the  red  men 
throw  taunts  at  the  black  soldiers  for  they  have 
found  them  foemen  worthy  of  their  steel.  No 
longer  do  officers  consider  it  humiliating  to  serve 
with  colored  troops.  On  the  contrary  they  are 
favorite  commands  to-day.  The  24th  and  25th 
Infantry  and  the  9th  and  10th  Cavalry  are  a  cre- 
dit to  the  U.  S.  Army.  Post  schools,  and  devoted 
and  intelligent  officers  have  developed  the  colored 
recruit  until  he  has  become  a  trustworthy,  brave 
and  intelligent  soldier. 

In  the  present  time  of  war  with  its  tortures 
and  horrors,  few  realize  what  perils  and  priva- 
tions and  constant  nerve  strain  the  Indian  War 
veterans  faced  !  They  have  never  been  fairly 
honored  for  their  faithful  endurance.  It  was 
theirs  to  be  at  the  birth  of  a  mighty  empire. 
They  took  no  part  in  the  destruction  of  peaceful 
homes.      Women   in   terror  looked  and  longed 


15 


eagerly  for  their  coming.  Children  looked  to 
them  as  their  succorers  and  protectors,  not  as 
merciless  murderers.     Honor  is  their  due. 

May  I  be  pardoned  if  I  state  that  it  makes  an 
old  Indian  War  Veteran  ''pensive"  to  see  pictures 
in  old  weeklies  of  Christmas  boxes,  mail  bags  of 
letters  and  all  kinds  of  goodies  and  comforts  sent 
to  the  soldiers  of  the  Civil  War,  and  to  the 
Spanish  War  Veterans  and  to  the  Pacific  Island 
stations ;  and  now  our  charitable  women  are 
knitting  scarfs  and  sending  chocolates,  pipes  and 
tobacco  to  foreign  soldiers  ;  but  who  ever  heard 
of  anything  being  sent  to  our  gallant  soldiers 
of  the  frontier? 

Almost  every  dollar  of  pa}'  was  spent  for  some 
luxury  like  goats'  milk  butter  at  two  dollars  and  a 
half  a  pound,  and  seldom  obtained.  Poor  sardines 
at  one  dollar  fifty  a  box,  and  the  poorest  kind  of 
shirts  and  stockings  at  the  sutler's.  No  one  pre- 
tended to  wear  a  "boiled  shirt,"  the  frontier 
name  for  cotton  shirts.  Sometimes  the  Indians 
would  get  "boiled  shirts"  and  wear  them  all  out 
side.  In  loneliness  time  dragged  on  with  seldom 
if  ever  a  letter  or  newspaper,  with  everlasting 
wishing  to  know  what  was  going  on  in  the  world, 
and  how  it  fared  with  friends  at  home.  Hardly  a 
book  in  sight  except  morning  reports, sick  reports, 
or  an  occasional  printed  order  from  Department 
Headquarters,  or  the  findings  of  court-mar- 
tial where  some  desperate  homesick  soldier  had 
been  sentenced  to  "death  by  musketry."     Oh! 


16 


the  loneliness  of  it,  the  darkness  of  evenings,  the 
silonee  of  it,  save  the  calls  for  drills,  guardmount, 
retreat  and  other  drum  and  fife  calls.  When  am- 
munition was  almost  gone  we  saw  a  cruel  fate  of 
unpreparedness  ;  all  this  made  us  bitterly  regard 
the  government  which  seemed  to  have  deserted 
us.  Now  and  then  news  came  of  this  and  that 
command,  too  few  in  number  to  stem  the  ever- 
lasting superiority,  slaughtered  and  mutilated, 
and  every  captive  tortured  to  death  by  demonish 
red  skins.  Then  would  come  what  seemed 
a  day  of  reckoning,  and  after  terrible  marches 
where  men  maddened  with  thirst  would  open 
their  veins  and  drink  their  own  blood,  and  after 
all  sorts  of  gloriously  brave  exploits  of  our  bo^^s 
in  blue,  the  murderous  devilish  Indians  would 
be  cornered  for  the  whipping  they  needed.  Then 
the  philantrophic  societies  in  Boston  and  Phila- 
delphia would  demand  of  the  President  that 
telegraphs  to  the  border,  and  fast  couriers  should 
be  sent  to  call  off  the  troops,  and  promise  food 
and  luxuries  and  gifts,  and  even  guns  and  ammu- 
nition for  the  Indians,  but  nothing,  absolutely 
nothing,  for  our  brave  boys  in  tatters  and  dirt 
colored  clothing,  ragged  and  worn,  which  long 
ago  were  uniforms  for  American  soldiers.  Are 
not  our  Indian  War  Veterans  worthy  of  respect? 
I  have  seen  Troop  F  of  the  gallant  old  3d  Ca- 
valry giving  exhibition  drills  in  the  east.  Their 
uniforms  were  spick  and  span,  and  in  perfect 
soldierly  fitting,  and  it  recalled  to  mind  the  time 
when  equally  brave  and  competent  **yellow  legs" 


17 


of  this  srame  ord  regiment  of  whom  ereryone 
should  be  so  proud,  had  instead  of  boots,  stripi* 
of  **gunny  sack"  tied  as  best  they  could  to  hold 
them  on,  and  instead  of  blue  well-fitting  uniform 
coats,  gunny  sacks,  the  corners  cut  off,  and  a  slit 
in  the  bottom,  and  the  dirty  sack  pulled  over  the 
head  like  a  sweater^  and  tied  about  the  waist  witb 
an  old  cord  or  rope  which  they  were  lucky  enough 
to  find.  How  good  Saint  Francis  of  Assisi 
whose  ragged  habit  has  won  so  much  praise,  must 
have  looked  from  heaven,  brave  soldier  he 
had  been  in  early  days,  and  how  he  must  have 
admired  and  blessed  them  in  their  enforced  po- 
verty. How  he  who  voluntarily  starved  him- 
self, must  have  pitied  their  miserable  food  and 
wretched  beds,  on  the  wet  ground  I  The  arms- 
were  kept  clean,  well  oiled,  serviceable  for  instant 
use,  but  shining  brass  and  polished  steel  were  not 
for  the  gallant  old  3d  in  those  dreary  days  which 
tried  the  souls  of  the  bravest. 

Near  the  Spring  in  the  old  days  was  located  a 
small  '*doby"  ranch  for  the  convenience  of  the 
brave  couriers  of  the  60s  the  pony  express  riders. 
Here  they  exchanged  their  mail  pouches,  obtained 
their  remounts,  and  a  short  rest  before  continuing 
their  gallop  through  the  Canyon  and  on  to  Fort 
Bayard  by  way  of  the  Mexican  villege  of  Miem- 
bres,  and  the  hot  spring  known  as  the  Ojo  Caliente. 

It  is  located  on  the  trail  about  six  miles  west 
of  the  Miembres  river. 

It  issues  from  a  mound  which  rises  some  fifty 
feet  above  the  level  plain  ;  it  is  some  twelve  feet 


18 


deep,  and  about  tlie  same  in  diameter,  and  looks 
very  like  the  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano,  al- 
though the  mound  may  have  been  formed  by  the 
Incrustations  of  lime  deposited  for  asres  fix)m  the 
water. 

'^Carbonk  acid  gas  bubbles  up  continually  from 
the  bottom,  and  the  more  the  bubbles,  th^  hotter 
the  water  becomes.  The  temperature  when  1 
visited  it,  was  127®  fahr.  Nitrate  of  silver 
produc(»d  no  precipitate  ;  evaporation ,  no  per- 
ceptible residue  ;  and  as  the  water  was  tasteless 
and  gives  no  odor  of  sulphur,  I  concluded  that  it 
is  of  unusual  purity,  though  not  medical  in  any 
way.  I  kept  an  egg  in  the  crater  all  night,  but 
it  was  still  uncooked  in  the  morning ;  the  spring 
is,  however,  a  little  too  liot  for  bathing  and 
would  scald  anyone  unfortunate  enough  to  slip 
into  it.  The  hot  and  smoking  streams  trickle 
down  from  the  mound  through  gaps  in  its  side, 
one  of  which  is  conducted  into  a  bath  house. 
This  location  belonged  to  Mr.  Virgil  Maston  who 
lived  here  with  his  wife  and  daughter  and  two  or 
three  men.  Afterwards  it  was  known  as  Hud- 
son's Spring."  The  Apache  Indians  held  this 
wonderful  spring  in  superstitious  veneration. 
Men  and  animals  who  drank  of  this  spring  and 
lived  by  its  mound  were  safe  from  Indian  attack, 
but,  I  noted  three  of  the  heaviest  rifles  I  had  ever 
seen,  too  heavy  to  aim  without  a  rest,  and  yet  of 
only  36  or  38  calibre. 

One  of  the  pony  express  riders  met  with  a 
sad  fate.     The  writer  had  gone  to  Miembres  from 


19 


Fort  Cummings  with  an  escort  of  troopers  of  the 
Third  Cavalry  to  take  medicine  to  the  fever-sick 
people  at  that  place.  Upon  returning  to  Fort 
Cummings  he  reported  that  thej  had  not  encoun- 
tered any  Indians,  but  that  the  pony  express 
rider  Charlie  Young  had  not  yet  reached  Miem- 
bres.  This  created  considerable  excitement  in 
the  garrison,  because  Charlie  was  a  popular  pony 
express  rider.  He  had  been  well-educated  in  a 
Western  University,  and  his  family  were  prom- 
inent people  in  St.  Louis,  but  through  evil 
associations,  and  especially  hj  gambling,  he  had 
lost  a  considerable  sum  of  money.  In  his  despair 
he  had  volunteered  to  the  pony-express  director 
for  a  position  as  rider  in  New  Mexico. 

He  was  a  brave  and  companionable  man,  said 
to  be  a  fearless  rider,  and  a  crack  shot,  and  so 
when  his  absence  at  the  Miembres  was  reported, 
the  commanding  oflScer  suspecting  that  he  had 
been  '* jumped"  by  the  Apaches,  sent  a  search 
party  of  cavalry-men  to  find  his  remains.  Far 
beyond  Cook's  gloomy  Canyon  and  quite  a  distance 
from  the  trail  they  found  his  naked,  mutilated 
body.  Everything  had  been  taken  including  his 
scalp.  The  soldiers  returned  with  his  remains 
to  the  garrison  where  the  body  was  washed,  and 
placed  in  a  rough  coffin  and  buried  in  the  lonely 
post  cemetery  where  I  trust  it  still  reposes  in 
peace. 

The  fire  wood  required  by  the  garrison  was 
obtained  in  Cook's  Canyon  under  the  shadows  of 
'*01d  Baldy."     It  consisted  of  cedar  and  scrub 


20 


*aali,  and  the  quarters  were  "heated  by  luirDnig 
*his  wood  in  large  open  fire-plaees  ;  there  were  no 
•jcoal  stoves.  To  obtain  this  important  supply  a 
detail  of  from  sixteen  to  twenty  men  with  a 
-strong  well-armed  guard  would  take  wagons  and 
^o  into  the  canon,  and  procure  the  necMied  wood 
-supply   for    the  garrison. 

After  the  gallant  old  125tirhad  Tnarch(Kl  away^ 
the  38th  Lu  S.  Colored  Infantry  from  Geoigia 
garrisoned  the  oM  fort.  On  one  occasion  while 
gfuarding  a  wood  party  they  came  suddenly  upon 
Apache  Indians.  So  suddenly  did  they  meet 
•each  other  that  the  Indians  believed  it  was  a 
military  force  sent  against  them,  and  the  coloi'- 
■ed  soldiers  thought  the  Indians  were  looking 
for  them,  so  both  Indians  and  soldiers  beat  a 
hasty  retreat,  and  th€  offi-cer  in  command  of  the 
the  detachment  returned  to  the  garrison  with  thv 
wood-choppers  in  a  very  unamiable  frame  of 
inind.  If  this  detachment  had  been  composed  of 
the  gallant  old  125th,  a  very  different  conclusion 
would  have  been  arrived  at.  In  every  direction 
around  Fort  Cummings  we  could  see  our  wiley 
foe,  the  Apache  Indians,  forever  watching  us^ 
Their  rifles  seemed  to  be  ever  turned  toward  old 
< 'Cook's  Spring"  whence  came  the  garrison's 
water  supply.  Some  mornings  we  could  find  the 
Indian's  moccasin  tracks  upon  the  parade  ground^ 
they  having  scaled  the  wall  and  crossed  the  pa- 
rade ground  and  scaled  the  opposite  wall  without 
being  observed.     They  did  this  by  attaching  a 


21 


long  hair  lariat  to  a  heavy  stone.  They  would 
throw  this  over  the  wall  and  by  a  see-saw  motion 
it  would  cut  into  the  '*doby"  bricks.  When  it 
held  fast,  the  Indians  would  by  this  assistance  be 
enabled  to  climb  the  walls.  They  emerged  in 
the  same  manner. 

Late  in  the  Fall  the  writer  was  detailed  to  take 
a  package  of  official  papers  to  Fort  Bayard.  An 
escort  of  three  troopers  of  the  3rd  was  provided. 

Soon  after  we  left  the  Miembres,  Indian  signs 
became  more  and  more  frequent.  Beyond  the 
Ojo  Caliente  we  noticed  the  signal  smoke,  and 
when  our  trail  reached  the  * 'Devils  Pass,"  more 
than  half  way  to  Bayard,  the  signals  increased, 
and  in  the  worst  place  of  all,  our  canteen  strap 
gave  way  threatening  the  loss  of  our  precious 
water  supply.  When  dismounted  to  repair  dam- 
ages even  the  gallant  old  3d  troopers  could  ill 
conceal  their  annoyance  caused  by  the  delay. 
Then  on  we  rode  to  finish  our  journey  and 
reached  Fort  Bayard  in  safety. 

Delivering  our  packet  at  Head -quarters,  we 
found  considerable  excitement  in  the  garrison, 
caused  by  an  audacious  Apache  raid.  Fort  Ba- 
yard consisted  of  the  usual  collection  of  buildings 
typical  of  a  so-called  frontier  ''fort,"  but  no  wall 
or  stockade  enclosed.  In  the  center  was  the 
usual  parade  ground  with  the  staff  for  Old  Glory, 
and  a  brass  Napoleon  6  lb.  gun,  on  each  side  of 
it,  pointing  towards  the  main  approach.  It  had 
happened  that  only  a  few  days  previously,  early 


22 


in  the  morning,  before  guard  mount,  a  consider- 
able body  of  Apaches,  in  war  paint,  dashed  into 
the  post  firing  right  and  left,  at  every  one  in 
sight,  and  even  at  the  doors  of  the  buildings  as 
they  passed,  and  then  wheeling,  yelling  and  fir- 
ing, had  ridden  away.  They  were  well  mounted, 
and  although  the  gun  squad  had  rushed  to  load 
the  cannon  ;  before  the  gun  strings  could  be 
placed  for  firing,  they  were  out  of  range,  as  their 
defiant  yell  died  away  in  the  distance !  The 
next  day  or  the  day  after,  we  took  with  us  an- 
other packet  and  a  good  supply  of  amunition,  for 
our  Sharp's  carbines  and  our  "navy  six  shooters." 
We  made  a  cautious  and  rapid  trip  to  the  Miem- 
bres,  and  started  early  in  the  morning  after  our 
arrival,  for  our  return  to  Fort  Cumniings,  and 
got  through  the  Canyon  safely,  although  all  the 
way  from  Bayard,  Indian  signals  were  increasing. 
We  noted  that  the  Apaches  were  showing  them- 
selves just  out  of  range,  and  at  sundown  the 
coyote  calls  sounded  loud  and  numerous.  Some- 
times we  thought  the  calls  were  from  wolves,  and 
sometimes  we  felt  sure  that  they  were  Indians. 
We  found  the  old  post  more  vigilant  than  ever, 
the  sentries  doubled,  front  and  rear.  Later  when 
the  morning  and  evening  gun  no  longer  saluted 
Old  Glory  at  Reveille  or  Retreat,  we  learned 
that  we  were  reduced  to  three  rounds  per  man 
for  ammunition  !     A  desperate  situation. 

As  when  the  mighty  engines  of  a  great  steamer 
stop  during  the  voyage  at  sea,  and  a  sense  of 
dread  of  impending  danger  comes  over  the  pas- 


23 


scngeth'y  »o'  wBen  ottr  nrorning^^  and  evening  gnr^' 
no  longer  echoed  among  the  hills  about  old  Fort 
Cummings,  we  realized  that  we  were  in  a  situa- 
tion more  or  less  desperate  for  the  husbanding  of 
every  drachm  of  powder  suggested  preparation- 
for  a  possible  ''last  stand." 

Two  picied  men>  on  the  best  of  the  Cavalry 
horses,  had  volunteered,  to  ride  out  in  the  night 
for  Fort  Selden  at  the  southern  end  of  the  Jor- 
nada del  Muerto,  hoping  that  the  desperately 
needed  ammunition  could  be  obtained  and  sent  to 
Cummings  by  wagon  with  suitable  escort.  On 
the  top  of  all  this,  was  the  anxiety  caused  by  the 
lack  of  discipline  and  efficiency  in  the  newly 
arrived  Georgia  colored  soldiers  I  This  anxiety 
nearly  resulted  in  a  bloody  tragedy  later  on.. 
The  little  band  of  white  men  officers,  non-coms, 
cavalry  men,  quarter-master  men,  etc.,  would 
have  fought  hard  for  the  lives  of  the  women  and 
children,  and  for  their  own  existence,  but  it 
would  have  been  a  well-nigh  hopeless  battle. 
We  needed  ammunition  sadly,  but  above  all, 
some  more  of  the  gallant  old  3d  Cavalry  to  keep 
affairs  safer  inside  the  garrison, as  well  as  to  hold 
oft  the  impudent  and  blood-thirsty  Apaches, 
waiting  like  hungry  wolves  for  a  chance  to  ex- 
terminate us  ! 

With  all  the  nonchalance  of  Americans,  the 
garrison  duties  went  on  as  usual.  The  drum  and 
life  sounded  gail}^  at  Reveille, Guard  Mount,Drill, 
Retreat,  and  Tattoo,  and  the  lonely  '*Taps"closed 


24 


the  days  of  strenuous  drilling,  and  every  possible 
precaution  was  taken  to  make  a  brave  resistance 
successful.  While  everyone  was  keyed  up  ready 
for  action ,  almost  sleeping  on  their  arms  as  it  were, 
one  night  the  post  was  startled  by  a  shot  fired  near 
the  rear  entrance  to  the  fort.  Instantly  the  "long 
roir'was  sounded,  lanterns  were  lighted,  the  troops 
were  all  in  ranks  in  front  of  the  barracks,  every 
man  was  armed  and  ready,  and  the  women  rush- 
ed to  the  Commanding  Officer's  quarters  for  the 
"last  stand"  as  agreed  upon  in  case  of  danger. 

The  Commanding  Officer  with  the  officer  of  the 
day  and  the  sergeant  of  the  guard  were  at  once 
on  the  spot,  questioning  the  negro  sentinel. 
"Why  did  you  fire"?  asked  our  Commander. 
Well  Colonel,  the  "bar"  came  right  straight  for 
me,  and  I  wan't  agoing  to  let  no  "bar"  eat  me  up, 
and  I  just  thinked  it  mought  be  an  Indian  in  a 
"bar"  skin,  so  I  fired  !  Another  sentry  was 
detailed,  and  the  old  fort  quieted  down  for  a  very 
disturbed  rest.  When  morning  came  some  troop- 
ers sought  for  that  "bar",  for  sure  enough  the 
darkies  aim  had  been  good  and  there  was  blood 
on  the  ground.  In  some  mesquite  bushes  they 
found  one  of  the  old  post  dogs,  a  big  black  harm- 
less fellow,  a  relic  of  the  gallant  125th.  The 
poor  beast  had  been  in  the  habit  of  making  "sen- 
try go"  with  the  guards,  and  the  sentry  of  the 
38th  had  taken  the  good  old  dog  for  a  "bar"  and 
thereby  created  a  startling  sensation. 

When  the  brave  soldier  boys  of  the  125th 
regiment  Colored  Volunteers  U.S.  Army  march- 


25 


ecf  away  for  nitisterjng  oat  after  its  faithful  and 
honorable  career  as  a  regiment  in  the  Civil  War 
as  well  as  Indian  War  service,  the  Commanding 
Officer  presented  the  writer  with  his  great 
powerful  dog,  "Fighting  Joe  Hooker".  We  all 
ealled  him  Joe  for  short,  and  we  all  felt  that  his- 
eourage  and  kindly  disposition  placed  him  on. 
the  honour  roll  at  old  Fort  Cummings. 

So  Joe  found  a  home  in  his  young  master'* 
quarters  and  slept  on  a  wolf-skin  at  the  door. 
Woe  betide  anyone  who  should  wish  to  enter 
without  permission. 

Every  morning  afterguard  mount  ''Joe"  quiet- 
ly left  the  Fort  and  joined  the  herders  in  the 
valley  near  by,  where  he  &pent  the  day,  ever  on 
the  lookout  for  wolves  with  which  he  loved  to 
battle.  At  retreat  he  came  home  and  was  ready 
for  his  hearty  evening  meal  which  had  been  saved 
for  him  during  the  day.. 

From  his  station  in  the  signal  tower,  a  tin 
eovered  turret  above  the  Fort  gate,  the  guard 
could  see  about  the  country  in  every  direction  ^ 
and  his  post  was  always  considered  important. 
The  morning  following  the  alarm,  the  guard  in 
the  turret  discovered  a  small  train  in  the  distance, 
approaching  the  Post.  It  could  be  seen  at  once 
that  the  wagon  train  had  stopped  and  that  active 
firing  was  going  on.  The  Commanding  Officer, 
always  ready  and  prompt  to  render  assistance, 
ordered  out  his  cavalry  detachment  with  the  Hos- 
pital Steward  for  medical  officer,  and  sent  it  to 
relieve  them. 


26 


More  tliaxi  once,  relief  liad  bee^i  sent  to liaras's- 
ed  trains,  and  when  the  Apaches  got  sight  of  the 
•^'yellow  legs",  as  cavalrymen  were  called  in  those 
days,  they  made  off  w^th  a  f€w  i^arting  shots 
which  seldom  did  much  damage.  One  trooper 
was  wounded  with  two  bullets  and  ati  arrow 
wound  in  the  chest.  The  bullet  wounds  were 
not  serious,  but  blood  poisoning  from  the  hitow 
wound,  finished  his  military  career. 

Game  was  sought  for,  now  and  then,  in  the 
lonely,  dangerous  Cook's  Canyon,  but  th<'  fa<V 
that  the  Apaches  were  almost  constantly  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Fort,  made  it  diificult  to  ob- 
tain permission  for  hunting  parties  of  less  than  a 
dozen  men  as  the  danger  was  too  great.  Even 
the  supply  of  water  for  daily  use  was  obtained 
under  guard,  and  w^ith  vigilant  caution.  There 
came  a  lull  in  Indian  activities  and  few  Indian?^ 
were  seen  near  the  Fort,  and  things  seemed  quiet 
so  far  as  Apaches  were  concerned.  The  writ- 
er was  able  to  obtain  permission  for  a  cotton 
tail  rabbit  hunt  in  the  Canyon,  and  to  be  allowed 
to  ride  out  alone.  Mounted  on  a  good  horse,  with 
a  Sharp's  carbine  and  a"Navy  six  shooter"he  rode 
out  past  *' Cook's  Spring"  which  supplied  the 
garrison,  past  the  Pony-Express  ranch,  and  a- 
round  the  base  of  ''Old  Baldy"  up  into  the  gloonn 
treacherous  Canyon.  It  was  a  beautiful  clear 
afternoon  without  any  sign  of  Apaches  for  some 
days.  Gaining  confidence  from  the  silence  and 
the  pleasure  of  the  ride,  he  turned  to  the  left  and 
penetrated  a  little  side  Canyon. 


27 


No  tracks  of  Indian  or  game  appeared,  and  the 
trail  was  so  clear  he  loped  forward.  Hardly  had 
the  thought  of  absence  of  danger  suggested  itself 
than  he  found  that  he  was  in  the  midst  of  a  lot 
of  Apache  squawks,  busily  engaged  in  setting  up 
teepee  poles.  Of  all  the  astonished  Indians  the 
writer  ever  saw,  and  of  all  the  astonishment  the 
writer  ever  endured,  this  was  surely  the  banner 
event !  The  Indians  straightened  up  from  their 
work  with  amazement  written  on  their  faces. 
They  seemed  rooted  to  the  earth  and  made  no 
effort  to  spring  forward  and  drag  the  rider  from 
his  horse.  The  rider,  after  a  pause  which  seemed 
endless  to  him,  awoke  to  activity  and  completely 
turning  his  horse  around,  vigourously  made 
use  of  his  spurs,  and  bending  low  on  his 
horse's  neck,  he  dashed  for  the  trail  of  the  main 
Canyon  with  the  j^ells  of  the  Apaches  ringing  in 
his  ears,  and  expecting  to  be  hit  by  bullet  or 
arrow  every  moment.  As  onward  he  raced  with 
his  sure  footed  cavalry  horse,  he  saw  the  weekly 
buckboard  mail  wagon  going  towards  the  fort, 
and  then  he  heard  the  clatter  of  pony  hoofs  be- 
hind him  and  the  yells  became  more  distinct.  In 
a  moment  the  buckboard  driver  took  in  the  situa- 
tion ;  he  lashed  his  horses,  and  on  we  dashed 
past  the  Spring,  and  up  the  incline  to  old  Fort 
Cummings  with  every  bit  of  speed  we  could  make. 
So  near  were  the  Apaches,  the  sentinel  and  some 
of  the  guard  rushed  out  and  fired  on  the  Indians, 
who  quickly  wheeled,  and  soon  were  out  of  sight 
in  the  recesses  of  Cook's  Canyon.    Almost  breath- 


28 


less,  men  and  steeds  panting  from  fiielr  exertions 
:and  the  excitement  of  the  wild  run,  were  thank- 
ful to  be  in  a  safe  harbour.  "Cotton  tails" 
offered  no  inducements  for  lonely  hunting  trips 
after  that  experience. 

One  of  the  thrilling  incidents  f<5r  the  writer 
was  going  on  an  errand  to  the  Pony  Express 
Ranch  one  evening  for  his  superior  officer.  It 
was  after  Tattoo  had  sounded  when  he  left  the 
ranch,  and  started  on  his  way  to  return  to  the 
^Qfarrison.  The  night  was  dark  and  the  way  led 
through  bushes  and  over  a  stony  path  to  the  arch- 
way of  the  main  entrance.  Behind  Mm  was  the 
opening  of  the  gloomy  Canyon  through  Mhich 
his  faithful  horse  had  so  gallantly  carried  him 
only  a  few  days  before.  The  young  soldier 
paused  an  instant  as  he  stepped  out  in  the  lonely 
night,  and  brought  his  pistol  well  within  reach. 
In  his  hand  he  carried  a  Mexican  cane.  Made 
of  a  large  steel  ramrod  and  mounted  with  an 
ebony  handle,  a  ten  cent  piece  fastened  at  the 
end,  and  a  Mexican  dollar  for  the  guard,  it 
looked  more  like  a  foil  than  a  walking  stick,  but 
was  no  mean  weapon  when  skilfully  handled. 

Cautiously  wending  his  way  towards  the  gar- 
rison, he  had  covered  more  than  half  the  distance 
when  he  was  suddenly  startled  by  a  noise  directly 
in  front  of  him.  The  pla<?e  was  overrun  with 
rattlesnakes — often  the  guard  killed  one  when  on 
his  post — and  coyotes  and  wolves  howled  like 
Indians,  and  Indians  like  coyotes  almost  every 


29 


night  after  Taps,  but  this  sound  came  from  a 
heavier  body  and  moved  slowly  in  his  direction. 
Well  he  knew  how  frequently  the  Apaches,  out 
of  pure  bravado,  crept  about  the  post  and  over 
the  walls  :  and  the  corral-wall  could  soon  be  saw- 
ed down  with  horsehair  ropes  and  the  stock 
stolen.  The  Indians  tie  a  heavy  stone  to  a 
horsehair  lariat,  and  throwing  it  over  the  wall, 
by  a  sawing  motion  they  can  cut  it  down  to  the 
earth.  Four  or  five  Indians  sawing  together  and 
then  pushing  the  w^all  now  deprived  of  support 
could  break  it  down,  and,  in  the  confusion,  rush 
in  and  carry  off  the  stock.  It  was  this  latter  idea 
which  suggested  itself,  and  he  knew  that  a  sharp 
knife  would  soon  end  his  career  if  his  lonely 
presence  were  discovered.  Quick  work  before 
the  garrison  was  alarmed  would  be  their  method, 
and  so,  quietly  drawing  his  Colt's  revolver,  he 
waited  for  developments  which  quickly  came. 
A  Mexican's  jackass  which  had  strayed  from  the 
Pony  Express  rider's  ranch  moved  steadily  to- 
wards him  and  disclosed  himself,  that  was  all : 
with  a  sigh  of  relief  he  hastened  onward. 

Like  so  many  other  officers  of  the  Army,  who 
afterwards  rose  to  high  rank  with  honourable  re- 
cord. General  Geo.  A.  Forsyth  was  once  the 
Commanding  Officer  of  old  Fort  Cummings.  A 
list  of  all  the  officers  who  served  at  Fort  Cum- 
mings during  its  short  history  of  twenty  years 
would  present  names  afterwards  highly  distin- 
ofuished.     All  these  officers  and  their  commands 


30 


came  in  contact  with  the  Apache  warriors.  Gen- 
eral Forsyth  thus  describes  them.  "Cruel,  crafty, 
very  quick  to  scent  danger,  equally  active  to 
discover  a  weak  or  exposed  place  within  his 
reach,  tireless  when  pursued,  patient  in  defeat, 
and  merciless  in  success,  always  seeking  the 
maximum  of  gain  at  the  minimum  risk,  the 
Apache  was  well  named  by  the  late  General 
George  Crook,  "the  tiger  of  the  human  species." 
Nor  is  it  to  be  wondered  at,  when  they  had  devel- 
oped the  highest  art  of  Indian  warfare  under  the 
tutelage  of  that  "tiger  of  tigers,"  the  great 
Apache  War  Chief,  Cochies  ! 

Cochies  was  the  hereditary  war  chief  of  the 
Chiricahua  Apaches,  and  one  of  the  ablest  leaders 
they  ever  had.  His  operations  extended  through 
Arizona  and  New  Mexico  into  Old  Mexico.  His 
last  important  raid  resulted  in  his  surrender  near 
Fort  Bowie,  Arizona.  Victoria,  in  1879,  was 
chased  into  Mexico  by  U.  S.  troops.  Natchez 
was  a  son  of  Cochies  and  inherited  his  father's 
hate  of  the  white  race. 

Until  the  winter  of  1861-62  the  Apaches  of  the 
Chiricahua  Mountains  had  not  interfered  with 
the  MailCompany,  and  for  two  years  during  which 
their  coaches  ran  along  the  trail,  presents  of 
blankets  and  food  kept  them  on  good  terms,  but 
after  this  a  young  West  Point  Officer  named 
Barkett,  so  the  story  goes,  summoned  the  Chief 
Cochies  to  explain  concerning  the  abduction  of  a 
Mexican  boy.     Cochies  and  a  half  dozen  of  his 


31 


fiead  meii  responded  to  tfie  summons.  TEej  de- 
nied the  charge  of  abduction  whereupon  the 
officer  issued  orders  for  their  arrest.  Cochies  in' 
a  moment  slit  open  tbe  canvas  of  the  tent  where 
he  was  confined  and  escaped,  but  his  companions 
Were  all  secured.  A  man  named  Wallace  who 
was  on  friendly  terms  with  the  tribe  volunteered' 
to  go  alone  and  treat  with  them.  He  did  so,  and 
sent  back  a  message  to  Barkett  that  in  his  opinion 
the  boy  had  not  been  stolen,  but  that  he  himself, 
was  now  a  hostage  in  their  hands.  Barkett  prompt- 
ty  hanged  the  Apaches,  and  Wallace  was  promptly 
hanged  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Pass.  This 
tragedy  over,  Cochies  and  his  entire  band  fled  to- 
their  mountain  fastnesses,  never  more  to  come 
in  contact  with  the  white  man,  unless  in  the  ex- 
ecution of  their  unquenchable  revenge.  Cochies- 
vowed  that  he  would  be  the  enemy  of  the  white 
race  as  long  as  he  lived.  Long  before  this  had 
happened,  the  execution  of  the  Miembres  Apache 
Chief,  Mangas  Colorados  at  old  Fort  McLane, 
then  located  twenty  miles  west  of  the  Rio  Miem- 
bres, a  post  long  since  abandoned,  had  aroused 
the  whole  Apache  tribe  to  vengence,  and  every 
white  man  they  could  find  was  doomed. 

Cochies  was  a  tall,  stately,  finely  built  Indian, 
who  seemed  to  be  rather  passed  middle  life  (in 
1870),  but  still  full  of  power  and  vigor  both  phy- 
sical and  mental.  He  was  a  king  among  the 
Apache  Indians,  who  were  reckoned  the  most 
terrible   of  all  the   Aborigines,     It  i&  conceded 


32 


that  in  cunning,  endurance,  ferocity,  and  what 
may  be  expressed  as  ''deviltry",  he  has  never 
had  an  equal  on  this  continent,  and  it  is  safe  to 
say  the  world  has  never  known  his  superior  ! 

Lieutenant  Gushing  had  the  reputation  of  being 
*'an  oiBcer  of  wonderful  experience  in  Indian 
warfare,  who  with  his  troop,  the  famous  'F'  of 
the  3d  Cavalry,  had  killed  more  savages  of  the 
Apache  tribe  than  any  other  officer  or  troop  of 
the  U.  S.  Army  had  done,  before  or  since."  This 
is  the  opinion  of  such  a  gallant  Indian  fighter  as 
Captain  Burke  of  the  3d  U.  S.  Cavalry,  well 
known  in  the  Army  as  an  experienced  Indian 
fighter.  It  was  he  who  said,  "Troop  'F'  of  the 
3d  Cavalry  than  which  a  better  never  bore 
guidon." 

General  Crooks'  Command  "started  from  Fort 
Craig,  marched  to  the  tumbled  down  village, 
Paraje  de  San  Cristobal  at  the  head  of  the  Jorna- 
da del  Muerto  "(the  journey  of  the  dead 
man)"  which  is  the  Sahara  of  New  Mexico,  then 
across  from  the  Point  of  Rocks  trail  to  the  long 
since  abandoned  camp  at  Ojo  del  Muerto,  or(dead 
man's  spring),  to  what  was  called  Fort  Mac  Rae, 
where  we  forded  the  river  to  the  west,  and  then 
kept  along  the  eastern  rim  of  the  timber  clad 
Miembres  Mountains,  through  Cow  Springs  to 
Fort  Cummings,  and  thence  due  west  to  Camp 
Bowie,  situated  in  the  Apache  pass  of  the  Chiri- 
cahua  Mountains  in  south-east  Arizona."  Like 
any  commander  marching  through   an   enemy's 


33 


country,  every  prrecaution  was  taken  to  gnarcf 
against  surprise  from  the  most  treacherous  of 
foes,  the  Apache  Indians.  Scouts  and  flankers 
exercised  the  utmost  vigilance.  The  quaint  old 
rules  among  frontier  scouts  like  our  Bill  Dixon 
at  P^lliott,  and  Amos  Chapman  at  Camp  Supply, 
^'Buffalo  Bill,"  James  Hickok''(Wild  Bill)/'  and" 
other  gallant  old  fellows  we  knew  on  the  frontier 
were  like  this:  '*When  you  see  Apache  'sign', 
he  keerful ;  'n  when  you  don'  see  nary  'sign'  be 
more  keerful." 

New  Mexico,  like  Arizona,  was  in  those  days 
5*eparated  from  *' God's  country"  by  a  space  of 
more  than  a  thousand  miles  without  a  railroad 
anywhere  west  of  Fort  Hayes  in  Kansas.  The 
officers  who  once  got  out  there  rarely  returned 
for  years.  Commands  moved  slowly  from  camp 
to  camp  with  seldom  an  incident  to  break  the 
dull  monotony  of  constant  vigil  against  ambus- 
cades, and  little  that  was  interesting  to  look  upoo 
as  we  journejed,  save  the  ever-recurring  signal 
smokes  of  the  Apaches  to  show  that  our  progress 
was  duly  watched  from  elevations  on  either  flank. 
We  realized  that  foemen,  brave  and  desperate 
fighters,  would  plan  and  plot  for  our  speedy  des- 
truction, and  this  was  *'the  school  for  courage," 
where  we  studied  ! 

The  names  of  heroes  like  Custer,  Elliot,  (Jrook, 
Forsyth,  Miles,  and  many  others  will  live  for 
all  time,  but  the  lesser  lights,  the  unnamed  heroes 


34 


will  live  in  the  influence  which  brave  deeds  have 
ever  exerted  upon  their  successors  in  the  Amer- 
ican Army. 

My  dear  old  friend  General  Carrington  des- 
cribes the  Indian.  '* Isolated,  y^t  in  communi- 
cation through  the  little  mirrors  which  flash  the 
sunlight,  and  pass  his  signals  for  miles ;  dashing 
forward  at  a  run  with  the  person  crouched  on  the 
pony's  neck,  firing  in  this  sheltered  position, 
riding  everywhere  apparently  at  random  ;"  con* 
cealed  in  the  sand  of  the  desert  with  bushes  tied 
to  his  head,  and  rising  out  of  the  ground  with 
sudden  and  accurate  shot,  imitating  the  cry  of 
the  wolf  when  it  will  hide  his  night  visits,  or 
worry  his  possible  victims.  "These  Indians  are 
everywhere  where  you  suppose  they  are  not ;  and 
are  certain  to  be  nowhere  where  you  suppose 
them  to  be." 

In  ambush  and  decoy,  splendid  ;  in  horseman- 
ship, perfect ;  in  strategy,  cunning ;  in  battle 
wary  and  careful  of  life  ;  in  victory,  jubilant ; 
and  in  vengeance,  fiendish  and  terrible  !  As  the 
old  Scout  Bridger  said  of  them.  ** Where  there 
ain't  no  Injuns,  you'll  find  them  thickest." 

115  miles  from  Albuquerque  is  Fort  Craig, 
a  military  post  placed  on  the  top  of  some  barren 
sandy  bluffs,  overlooking  the  Eio  Grande  which 
stream  we  cross  before  entering  the  dreary  Jor- 
nada del  Muerto**Dead  Man's  Journey, "or** Jour- 
ney of  Death."  The  valley  is  more  like  a  level  cen- 
tral trough  between  the  bluffs  or  cliffs  on  either 


35 


side,  the  dangerous  fastness  of  the  merciless  Mes- 
celero  Apaches.  The  '* Sierra  Madre"  of  New 
Mexico  to  the  Miembres  Mountains  south  of 
latitude  33°  make  a  formidable  barrier,  the  ''di- 
vide between  the  waters  of  the  Colorado  Chiquito 
and  the  Gila  on  one  side  emptying  into  the  Paci- 
fic ;  and  the  Rio  Grande  on  the  Atlantic  slope. 
Cook's  Canyon  is  the  pass  through  the  Miembres 
Mountains  which  opens  upon  the  vast  plain,  the 
Madre  Plateau.  All  this  region  had  been  depo- 
pulated by  the  Apaches  and  Navajos  on  one  side, 
and  the  Comanches  on  the  other. 

Miles  Elevation 

"Fort  Craig  on  Rio  Grande  3857 

Fort  Craig  to  Fort  Cunimings, 

foot  of  Cook's  Canyon  104-1  4094 

Summit  of  Cook's  Canyon  3-1 

Foot  of  Cook's  Canyon  3-6 

Fort  Bayard,  from  Fort  Cummings  44 

Runk's  Survey.  ' 

At  "Soldier's  Farewell"  two  miserable  water  holes 
were  found.  While  we  looked  at  the  thick  green 
puddle,  full  of  creeping  things,  slime,  and  all 
sorts  of  abominations,  from  which  we  had  to 
drink,  a  feeling  of  dread  for  the  future  involun- 
tarily crept  over  us. 

The  Burro  Mountains  were  not,  as  they  appear- 
ed to  be,  an  ordinary  range  rising  from  the  plain, 
but  the  crowning  ride  or  summit  of  the  great 
continental  water  partings  ;  and  although  they 
rose  from  a  much  higher  base  than  the  ranges  to 


36 


the  east  and  west  of  tliem,  by  1208  feet  higher 
than  Ojo  Caliente,  six  miles  west  of  the  Miem- 
bres  River,  23  miles  distant,  the  felope  up  their 
sides  was  not  rapid  enough  at  first  to  be  distinctly 
apparent  without  our  surveyor's  levels. 

The  Mescalero  Apaches  had  their  home  among 
hills  and  mountains  bordering  on  the  grave- 
marked  region,  the  Jornada  del  Muerto.  Along 
the  trail,  mesquite  bushes,  apparently  growing  in 
a  little  cluster,  would  suddenly  rise,  and  prove  to 
be  the  temporary  head  dress  of  these  fierce  sav^ 
ages,  who  had  hidden  themselves  in  this  manner 
in  the  sand.  They  instantly  poured  in  a  deadly 
fire  upon  the  unsuspecting  travellers.  The  ideal 
Apache  warrior  was  the  Chiricahua,  named  after 
his  rocky  fastnesses  of  the  **Turkey  Mountains." 
The  last  virile  remnant  of  a  powerful  race,  it  long 
looked  uncertain  if  he  ever  would  be  whipped. 
Crushed  he  never  was.  Old  Fort  Cummings  had 
ceased  to  exist  as  a  military  stronghold  long 
before  its  merciless  enemies  had  been  under  some 
isemblance  of  governmental  control. 

Physically  the  Chihuicahui  became  the  flower 
of  his  race.  It  is  not  presumable  that  he  had  any 
initial  advantage  over  his  cousins  the  Tontos 
Jicarillas,  and  other  Apaches.  Geronimo  was 
a  full-blooded  Chihuicahui.  Na-chi-ta,  a  fa- 
mous Apache,  was  a  son  of  old  Cochies  whose 
very  name  made  the  soldier  look  to  his  arms  and 
ammunition. 


37 


Fort  Bowie  certainly  deserves  more  than  a 
passing  notice,  it  witnessed  many  stirring  scenes 
of  Indian  warfare,  and  its  little  garrison  held  its 
own  through  many  a  lonely  dangerous  day.  One 
incident  comes  to  mind  where  an  officer  and  his 
escort  were  followed  and  killed  close  to  its  wall, 
and  the  horrified  and  baffled  little  garrison  w^ere 
forced  to  witness  not  only  the  death  of  the  officer, 
but  also  to  see  a  savage  Apache  warrior  cut  out 
the  officer's  heart,  and  in  Indian  fashion  drink 
the  blood  from  the  bleeding  heart.  To  drink  the 
heart  blood  from  a  gallant  enemy  was  supposed 
to  confer  additional  courage  in  the  victor.  The 
writer  has  witnessed  this  idea  acted  out  in  won- 
derful mimicry  during  a  war  dance  of  Ojibway 
warriors  in  North  Western  Minnesota  in  the 
Fall  of  1879. 

'*There  never  has  been  adequate  public  recog- 
nition of  the  inestimable  service  rendered  by  the 
small  United  States  regular  army  in  the  Indian 
campaigns. 

The  great  wilderness  west  of  the  Mississippi 
was  held  by  powerful  tribes  of  singularly  war- 
like and  blood  thirsty  savages.  It  has  been  said 
that  for  every  man  the  hostile  Apaches  lost,  they 
killed  twenty-five  white  men  ! 

Abreast  of  the  first  hardy  pioneers,  appeared 
the  West  Point  officer,  and  his  little  companj^  of 
trained  soldiers,  and  the  more  regular  settlers 
never  made  their  appearance  until  in  campaign 
after  campaign,  always  very  wearing  and  harass- 


38 


ing,  and  often  very  bloody  in  character,  the  scar- 
red and  tattered  troops  had  decisively  overthrown 
the  Indian  lords  of  the  land.  Campaigns  whose 
activity  and  hardships  no  civilized  war  could 
parallel."  And  yet  when  these  noble  old  Indian 
War  Veterans  have  sought  for  a  modest  and  most 
reasonable  pension  to  make  their  remaining  days 
endurable,  their  petition  has  been  ignored  by 
Congress. 

,,  Save  for  the  presence  of  the  regular  Army,  a 
large  portion  of  territory  inclosed  within  the 
limits  of  the  flourishing  states  of  the  great  plains 
and  the  Rockies,  would  still  be  in  the  possession 
of  hostile  Indians,  and  the  work  of  settlement  in 
the  west  could  not  have  reached  its  present 
point. 

The  lonely  little  posts,  where  for  many  years 
at  a  time  the  soldiers  wearing  the  national  uni- 
forms lived  and  warred  and  died,  with  quiet 
endurance,  surrounded  by  the  desolation  of  vast 
solitudes,  and  menaced  by  the  most  merciless  of 
foes,  have  now  either  been  abandoned,  or  are  the 
seats  of  flourishing  towns,  which,  but  for  the 
exertions  of  these  soldiers,  would  never  have 
come  into  being ;  and  the  memory  of  the  deeds 
done  during  the  lonely  years  of  peril,  fades  as 
rapidly  as  the  walls  of  the  Cantonments  crumble. 

They  attracted  scant  notice  at  the  time  in  the 
roar  of  our  huge  and  busy  national  life  ;  and 
they  were  forgotten  almost  as  soon  as  done. 
Yet   their   consequences   were    of   far   reaching 


^ 


inrportance,  and  it  seems  only  fitting  tfiat  thej 
should  be  appropriately  commemorated."  Atlan- 
tic Monthly,  1892. 

The  charm  of  the  frontier  of  Kansas,  Colorado,. 
Indian  Territory,  and  New  Mexico  has  gone  for- 
ever. 

The  great  ocean  of  plains  is  now  a  mighty 
empire  of  farms,  villages,  and  beautiful  cities.. 
Only  the  mountains  and  the  glorious  sky  and 
bright  light  of  the  sun  remain,  the  excitement,, 
the  hardships,  the  dangers  from  savage  foe  are 
also  gone.  No  one  who  has  lived  on  the  "fron- 
tier" of  1867  will  ever  forget  the  deep  impressions 
the  wild  life  instilled  in  him.  As  an  old  veteran 
has  said,  and  he  was  a  man  of  uncommon  and 
undoubted  courage,  the  more  you  have  to  do  wdtb 
Indian  warfare,  the  more  you  dread  the  Indians, 
and  try  to  keep  oat  of  their  way. 

*'Men  may  be  very  brave  at  first, but  the  contin- 
ual anxiety  soon  takes  the  dash  out  of  them,^ 
you  bet." 

*'To  see  the  American  trooper  on  the  plain  in 
a  hostile  Indian  Country,  after  interminable 
marches,  wearied  and  reduced  by  exposure,  pro- 
tracted work,  and  insufficient  food,  with  his 
worn  out  rusty  uniform"  would  not  inspire 
praise!  '*The  bugle  sounds;  and  these  appar- 
ently ungraceful  troopers,  after  their  long  march,, 
and  a  few  hours  of  sleep,  perhaps  on  the  wet 
prairie,  or   on    the   snow  covered  ground,   will 


40 


swing  into  their  saddles  with  a  motion  that  daz- 
zles the  eye  by  its  mechanical  precision.  There 
they  sit  motionless  ;  and  if  one  scans  their  faces, 
one  will  observe  that  unmistakable  look  of 
intelligence  which  is  not  the  result  of  discipline, 
but  of  education,  and  which  is  so  noticeably 
absent  in  the  automatic  soldiers  of  the  Old 
World.  When  the  trumpet  sounds  again,  mark 
the  soldierly  ease  and  grace  with  which  these 
troopers  dash  off,  though  they  have  been  weeks 
on  the  march,  half  starved,  fighting  Indians  day 
by  day,  passing  sleepless  nights,  enduring  every 
kind  of  weather,  and  privations,  undaunted  by 
pitiless  frosts  and  snows,  the  dust  of  the  great 
plains,  or  the  terrible  thirst  of  the  alkali  deserts, 
and  one  must  say  in  view  of  their  great  endur- 
ance, their  ever  cheerful  readiness,  and  easy  but 
perfect  descipline,  that  American  soldiers,"  (es- 
pecially American  cavalrymen)  **are  the  best  in 
the  world."  It  is  owing  to  these  qualifications 
that  we  had  in  them  such  excellent  Indian  fight- 
ers, and  I  venture  to  say  that  nowhere  in  the 
armies  of  the  Old  World  could  a  body  of  troops 
be  selected  of  equal  numbers  who  would  compare 
at  all  favorably  with  them  in  Indian  campaigns. 

Is  it  any  wonder  we  have  dedicated  our  first 
book  on  the  Indians,  * 'Personal  Experiences 
Among  Our  North  American  Indians,"  ''to  the 
gallant  old  3d  Cavalry"  ?  All  the  way  across  the 
great  plains  for  weeks  and  months,  in  the  sad- 
dle we  had  ridden  with  those  splendid  troops, 
and  with  them  we  had  shared  the  most  advanced 


41 


picket,  the  anxious  night  and  dawn  at  the  dan- 
gerous Cimarron  Crossing. 

Through  the  wild  Apache  land  we  rode  with 
them,  and  in  the  anxious  days  at  Cummings  we 
had  looked  up  to  them  as  our  strongest  hope. 
Is  it  any  wonder  that  half  a  century  has  not 
dulled,  and  time  will  never  dull  the  deep  sense  of 
hope  and  security  which  their  steady  soldierly 
competence  insured. 

The  sight  of  the  cross  sabres  and  magic  number 
3  still  brings  to  us  in  our  old  age  a  soldier's 
esteem  and  affection  for  the  gallant  old  3d  Ca- 
valry U.  S.  Army.  The  world,  even  to-day  can 
produce  no  better  cavalrymen  than  they.  Their 
memory  is  ever  dear  to  us. 

We  call  to  mind  as  the  shadows  lengthen,  so 
many  brave  and  true  American  soldier  friends, 
so  many  brave  hearts  who  served  with  us  on  the 
great  plains,  and  in  the  Apache  lands  in  the  60's. 
For  most  of  them  the  *'last  call"  has  sounded, 
and  never  more  will  "boots  and  saddles"  mean 
the  excitement  of  a  possible  '* affair  with  Indians." 
The  veteran  soldier  of  the  Indian  Wars  was  a 
soldier  worthy  of  the  name,  and  * 'second  to 
none"  on  earth  for  intelligent  courage  and  fight- 
ing ability.  There  is  no  ''rear"  in  Indian  war- 
fare and  seldom  any  cover,  and  the  only  certainty 
is  that  in  case  of  capture,  the  ending  will  be 
death  by  terrible  torture.  I  have  never  seen 
anyone  who  was  in  the  hands  of  Indians,  and  had 
escaped  death. 


42 


South  of  the  Fort  was  located  the  ** bivouac  of 
the  dead,"  the  simple  **post  cemetery,"  over 
which  no  careless  feet  ever  trod,  save  those  of 
Indian  or  wolf. 

There,  in  this  lonely  spot  so  many  brave  sol- 
diers have  had  the  **last  call"  sounded,  and  the 
last  rifle  volleys  fired  over  their  last  resting  place. 
Here  is  enshrined  the  dust  of  many  a  brave 
soldier  and  frontiersman. 

**Their  sabres  are  rust. 

Their  good  steeds  dust. 

Their  souls  are  with  the  Saints,  we  trust." 

And  of  those  who  are  living  who  have  served  at 
this  gallant  little  fortress,  where  are  they  now? 

Scattered  far  and  wide,  but  never  one  of  them, 
from  general  to  private  soldier  who  is  not  proud 
of  having  served  at  old  Fort  Cummings.  A 
word  from  any  one  of  them  would  be  gratefully 
received  by  the  writer. 

Old  Fort  Cummings  has  fallen  to  ruins.  Its 
massive  '<doby"  walls  have  crumbled,  and  Old 
Glory  no  longer  * 'catches  the  gleam  of  the  morn- 
ings' first  beam"  from  its  once  graceful  flag  staff. 
Only  '*01d  Baldy"  still  wears  the  same  snow 
white  crest,  and  keeps  its  lonely  everlasting 
vigil,  as  the  ''sentinel"  of  Cook's  Canyon,  and  of 
the  south  west. 


43 


Comrades,  we  pledge  the  cup  of  memory  to 
dear  old  Fort  Cummings  !  Peace  to  its  ashes, 
eternal  glory  to  its  gallant  records.  We  love 
and  cherish  its  memory  until  *'taps"  sounds  its 
pitiful  notes  for  us  !     Fort  Cummings,  adieu  ! 

William  Thornton  Parker,  M.  D. 

Northampton,  Massachusetts. 
March,  1616. 


44 


The  Old  South  Western  Santa  F^  Trail. 


*'Rude  highway  to  heaven  !  The  bearded  and 

strong, 
Left  white-topped  wagons,  and  weary  cattle. 
They  said  to  the  sordid  old  world  'So-long', 
Their  souls  unshucked  ;  in  the  Indian  battle, 
Husked  free,  by  the  red  Apache  spears  ! 
In  clumps  of  cactus  their  bones  are  sleeping 
Strewn  with  the  skeletons  of  their  steeds. 
And  a  rattlesnake  in  the  white  ribs  creeping, 
Makes  a  gruesome  epitaph.  Mate  ! — I  say 
For  a  freighter  who  fought  on  the  Santa  Fe." 

You  have  not  forgotten  the  ford,  I  know, 
That  wagon  corral  and  the  log  fires  in  it, 
*'01d  Baldy"  lifting  his  brow  of  snow, 
**As  white  as  your  crony's  head  this  minute 
Oh,  the  yarns  we  spun,  the  songs  we  sung 
Of  *home,  sweet  home'  and  blue  'Juniata  !' 
While  up  in  the  pines  the  new  moon  hung ; 
And,  pshaw  old  partner,  what's  the  matter? 
Does  it  hurt  you  yet,  when  your  hair  is  grey, 
What  she  said  that  night,  on  the  Santa  F^  ?" 

Robert  Mclntyre. 


45 


46 


CAPTAIN  W.  THORNTON  PARKER,  M.  D. 
Aide-de-Camp  Army  and  Navy  Union,  U.  S.  A. 


f  00t  »srvfi 


The  Records  of  the  Rebellion  give  two  small 
engagements  in  Cook's  Canyon,  July  10  and 
July  24,  1863  ;  the  first  between  Union  troops 
(Rangers)  and  Indians  :  on  the  second  there  was 
no  official  report,  aside  from  the  date. 

This  information,  such  as  it  is,  has  been  pieced 
together  from  atlases  and  maps  (the  U.  S.  Geol- 
ogical Survey.)  "Deming  sheet"  shows  Fort 
Cummings,  from  the  Official  Records  of  the 
Rebellion,  and  from  private  sources. 

Speaking  in  Denver,  August  24,  1914,  the 
Hon.  Lindley  M.  Garrison,  Secretary  of  War, 
said  in  part,  **I  want  to  say  that  it  was  the  pre- 
sence of  the  army  in  the  great  north-west  that 
made  possible  the  present  great  population. 

The  soldiers  of  the  United  States  Army  blazed 
the  trail,  and  protected  those  who  sought  a  new 
country.  The  western  country  was  bought  and 
consecrated  by  the  fidelity,  loyalty,  skill  and 
energy  of  our  gallant  army." 

And  undoubtedly  facing  the  certainty  of  the 
awful  Indian  torture  in  case  of  capture,  added  to 
the  honour  and  glory  of  the  services  they 
rendered.     W.  T.  P. 


47 


Statement  from  the  Official  Records 
relative  to  the  history  of  the  125th  Regi- 
ment United  States  Colored  Infantry  Volunteers 

It  is  shown  by  the  official  records  that  the 
125th  Regiment  United  States  Colored  Infantry 
Volunteers  was  organized  at  Louisville, Kentucky,, 
between  February  23  and  June  2,  1864,  and  was 
mustered  into  service  to  serve  three  years.  Some 
of  the  stations  of  the  regiment,  in  addition  to 
Louisville,  Kentucky,  were,  as  shown  by  succes- 
sive bi-monthly  muster  rolls,  and  the  muster-out 
rolls,  as  follows  : 

December  31,  18(i5-Camp  Chase,  Ohio; 

February    28,  18(i6-(/airo,  Illinois; 

April  30,  18(^6-near  Fort  Leavenworth, 

Kansas  ; 
June  30,  186 6- en  route  to  Fort  Union, 

New  Mexico  j 
August       31,  1866-Fort  Selden,  New  Mexico; 
October     31,  1866-Fort  Craig,  New  Mexico; 
December  31,  1866- 
February   28,  1867- 
April  30,  1867- 

June  30,  1867- 

August       31,  1867- 

October      31,  1867-Fort  Union,  New  Mexico. 
It  appears  that  Company  D,  said  regiment,  was 
stationed  at  Fort  Cummings,  New  Mexico,  from 
August  12,  1866,  to  October  2,  1867. 


48 


The  first  commander  of  the  regiment  was  Col- 
onel Charles  D.  Armstrong,  who  resigned  in 
April,  1866. He  was  succeded  by  Colonel  William 
R-  Gerhart.  The  regiment  was  temporarily  com- 
manded by  subordinate  officers  at  different  times 
between  August,  1865,  and  August,  1866,  and 
after  that  continuously  by  Colonel  Gerhart. 

The  regiment  was  mustered  out  of  service  at 
Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  December,  27,  1867. 

It    appears    that    the     125  th    United    States 
Colored  Infantry  was  the  last  volunteer  organiza- 
tion  of  the  Civil   War   to   be  mustered   out  of 
service. 
War  Department, 

The  Adjutant  General's  Office, 
February  8,  1916. 

Justice  to  Indian  Fighters 

The  passage,  by  the  House  of  Representatives, 
Feb.  16,  of  the  Keating  bill,  pensionin  Indian  War 
Veterans  and  widows,  marks  a  distinct  step  to- 
ward final  justice  for  deserving  American  sol- 
diers— the  brave  fellows  who  blazed  the  way  for 
civilization  in  the  wild  west.  Bs^CfOft 

All  credit  is  due  Representatives  »Tohn  A.  Key," 
of  Ohio,  Chairman  of  the  House  Committee  on 
Pension,  and  Edward  Keating,  of  Colorado,  fa- 
ther of  the  bill,  for  their  labor  of  love  in  behalf 
of  the  old  Indian  fighters.  It  is  hoped  the 
Senate  will  see  the  equity  of  this  measure  and 
pass  it  before  the  present  session  of  Congress 
ends. 

American  Standard, 
March,  1916. 


49 


Twenty-Five  Year  War 


For  a  quarter  of  a  century,  after  the  close  of 
the  Civil  War,  the  trans-Missouri  country  wa* 
the  scene  of  almost  innumerable  conflicts  betweeu 
the  Caucasians  and  the  Indians.  The  latter  stub- 
bornly contested  the  invasion  of  their  hunting 
grounds. 

*'It  is  impossible  to  overestimate  the  impor- 
tance of  the  service  rendered  by  these  Indian 
fighters.  They  opened  the  West  to  civilizatioit 
and  settlement*  They  battled  with  a  brave ^ 
cunning,  merciless  foe,  and  usually  they  faced 
fearful  odds,  but  they  were  almost  uniformly 
successful.  They  fought  no  Austerlitz,  but  in 
every  State  of  the  trans- Missouri  West  is  some 
Thermopylae  rendered  immortal  by  their  life 
blood." 

**I  saw  more  fighting  at  Beecher'g  Island  than 
during  all  the  four  years  I  served  with  the  'Army 
of  the  Potomac,'  "  is  the  testimony  of  one  of  the 
survivors  of  Forsyth's  famous  fight  with  Roman 
Nose. 

From  Report  No.  115,  64th  Congress, 

1st  Session,  House  of  Representatives, 
Pension  for  Indian  War  Veterans, 

**In  1882  General  Forsyth  made  a  brilliant 
expedition  against  the  Apache  Indians  from  Fort 
Cummings  defeating  them  in  an  engagement  near 
Stean's  Peak,  and  following  them  into  Mexico  as 
far  as  Janoes  River.     Assistant  Surgeon  Newton, 


50 


5and  Acting  Assistant  Surgeons  Cocky  and  Lacy, 
U.  S.  Army,  were  stationed  at  Fort  Cummings 
in  1882  when  General  Forsyth  was  in  command. 

The  Adjutant  General's  Offline., 

Washington,  March  8,  19 IH, 
Dr.  William  Thornton  Parker, 
Valley  View, 

65  Columbus  Avenue, 
Northampton,  Mass. 

The  field  and  staff,  Company  A,  and  other 
companies  of  the  38th  United  States  Colored 
Troops  were  mustered  out  of  service  at  Indianola, 
Texas,  January  25,  1867.  Company  F,  38th 
United  States  Infantry,  arrived  at  Fort  Cum- 
mings, New  Mexico,  June  4,  1868,  and  relieved 
Company  A  of  this  regiment,  which  company 
left  June  6,  1868, 

It  does  not  appear  from  the  records  that  a  man 
named  Charles  E.  Clark  was  a  commissioned 
officer  in  the  38th  United  States  Colored  Troops 
(Volunteers). 

The  Adjutant  General. 


SI 


The  Apaches 


An  xArmy  Opinion  of  the  Indian  Question. 
To  the  Editor  of  The  Springfield  Republican. 

A  clipping  from  the  ''Panhandle,"  an  enterpris- 
ing little  paper  published  at  Mobeetie,  Tex.,  in 
the  interest  of  cattle  raising,  which  has  made  this 
section  of  country  justly  famous  : 

'*Theworkof  the  Apaches  in  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona,  horrifymg  as  it  has  been,  has  done  more 
for  the  cause  of  humanity  than  any  break  they 
ever  made  before.  We  liave  conversed  with  an 
eastern  o:entlemen  who  was  almost  in  the  midst 
of  it.  He  has  heretofore  been  a  staunch  believer 
in  the  Indian  policy,  but  since  looking  the  mat- 
ter square  in  the  face  he  would  out-Herod  Herod 
in  the  ranks  of  exterminators.  The  territories 
are  more  than  ever  before  filled  up  with  pros- 
pecting tenderfeet  from  the  east.  It  is  always 
easy  to  think  lightly  of  barbarities  committed  a 
thousand  miles  away,  and  seems  the  height  of 
magnanimity  to  sympathize  with  the  Indian  for 
his  wrongs,  andcondone  his  soul-sickening  atroc- 
ities toward  the  Christian  men  and  women  of 
our  own  race.  But  when  the  people  of  the  east 
feel  peculiar  sensations  about  their  own  scalps, 
flee  for  their  own  lives,  and  see  the  slain  and  tor- 
tured about  them,  they  are  brought  to  a  realizing 
sense  of  the  situation  !  The  late  Apache  outbreak 
has  made  thousands  of  new  converts  to  the  side 
of  God  and  humanity  and  extermination." 


52 


The  editor  knows  what  he  is  talking  aboilt 
when  he  protests  against  the  sentiment  so  com- 
mon in  the  east,  that  every  hard-fought  Indian 
^fight  is  another  "massacre."  There  are  tribes 
of  Indians,  no  doubt,  struggling  faithfully  toward 
civilization,  and  such  efforts  deserve  to  be  en- 
couraged, but  the  Apaches  I  believe  are  absolute- 
ly untamable,  and  extermination  would  seem  to 
be  the  only  remedy  applicable.  Certainly  it 
ought  to  be  tried  ;  old  Indian  fighters  declare 
that  the  best  Apache  is  a  dead  one.  We  need  a 
strong  hand  to  govern  the  Indian,  and  the  Army 
has  always  proved  itself  capable  of  securing 
not  only  the  best  interests  of  the  pioneers  and 
settlers  in  the  wild  west,  but  has  done  very  much 
for  the  good  of  the  Indians  themselves.  The 
amount  of  money  wasted  by  the  Indian  depart- 
ment,and  stolen  by  dishonest  Indian  agents  would 
pay  a  good  share  of  the  expenses  of  the  needed 
increase  of  the  army.  Then  the  Indians  would 
be  taught  a  lesson  which  they  have  not  yet 
learned,  viz.  :  that  by  good  conduct  they  could 
expect  and  receive  justice,  and  for  their  evil 
deeds  swift  and  sure  punishment.  The  army  has 
always  been  required  to  do  well-nigh  impossible 
things  in  Indian  outbreaks,  and  no  sooner  have 
they  forced  these  blood-thirsty  savages  to  terms 
than  a  storm  is  raised  by  would-be  philanthropists 
of  "cruelty"  and  "massacre".  The  troops  are 
sent  away  unthanked,  the  Indians  loaded  with 
presents  and  fed  into  condition  for  another 
series   of  murders  and  outrages.     As  the  editor 


53 


of  the  Panhandle  most  justlj  remarks,  if  only 
some  of  these  philanthropists  could  experience 
the  horros  of  an  Indian  outbreak,  we  should  hear 
less  about  Indian  "massacres"  from  them  ! 

William  Thornton  Parker,  M.  D. 

Acting  Assistant  Surgeon  U.  S.  Army. 
Fort  Elliot,  Mobeetie,  Wheeler  County,  Texas, 

May  19,  1883. 

I  am  permitted  to  make  some  extracts  from  a 
most  interesting  and  valuable  letter  received  from 
Colonel  G.  G.  Gale,  United  States  Army,  ret., 
who  knows  all  this  region  of  Southern  New 
Mexico  in  which  Fort  Cummings  is  located. 

28Feb'y,  1916. 

My  Dear  Dr.  Parker  : 

I  have  received  your  note  of  the  24th  and 
am  very  glad  if  I  may  be  of  use  to  you.  My 
acquaintance  with  old  Fort  Cummings  was  very 
limited  being  only  from  June  until  September 
of  1880.  The  post  had  been  abandoned  for  sev- 
eral years,  but  the  walls  were  intact  and  several 
of  the  rooms  and  buildings  fit  for  such  purposes 
as  store  rooms,  etc.,  and  we  used  them  as  such. 
The  two  rooms  on  either  side  of  the  sally-port 
were  serviceable,  and  we  used  one  for  a  guard 
room  and  the  other  for  an  ordinance  room.  The 
room  above  the  sally  port  had  disappeared. 


54 


I  will  try  to  answer  your  questions. 

The  ''Jornada  del  Muerto"  or  "day's  journey  of 
death"  was  a  long  wide  valley  west  of  the  San 
Andreas  mountains  and  separated  from  the  Rio 
Grande  by  the  two  lower  ranges,  Cristobal  and 
Caballo.  After  crossing  the  river  below  Fort 
Craig,  one  left  the  Fort  Stanton  road  and  turned 
almost  due  south  on  to  the  Jornada.  There  was 
no  known  water  for  a  hundred  miles  or  more  for 
a  long  time,  but  in  the  course  of  time  it  was 
found  not  very  far  from  the  southern  end  at 
what  was  known  as  Martin's  well.  I  have  never 
travelled  its  entire  length  and  go  am  telling  you 
this  partially  from  heresay.  It  was  a  perfectly 
open  flat  valley,  slightly  rolling  and  principally 
in  grass.  What  shrubbery  there  was,  was  very 
low  and  principally  of  the  "grease  wood"  type  ; 
the  grass  was  excellent  when  there  had  been  rain 
but  you  probably  remember  that  there  might 
occur  whole  seasons  without  it. 

Fort  McRae  was  near  the  northern  end  of  the 
Jornada,  on  the  Ojo  del  Muerto.  I  get  this  from 
a  publication  in  the  club  library,  without  a  title 
page :  the  book  is  not  entirely  reliable  as  it  says 
McRae  was  three  miles  west  of  the  river  instead 
of  east,  but  I  think  the  name  of  the  spring  is 
correct. 

The  Rand  McNally  Atlas  makes  it  exactly  50 
miles  from  Cummings  to  Selden  in  a  straight 
line  :  I  think  65  miles  by  trail  is  a  good  estimate. 
We  used  to  scout  across  to  Colorado,  a  little 


55 


Sfexicau  town  near  tHe  It.  R.  Station  **Kincou'*' 
and   some  miles  above  Selden,  and  always  did  it 
by  making  a  **dry  camp"  and  finishing  the  jour- 
ney in  the  early  morning. 

Philip  St,  George  Cooke  was  a  West  Point 
graduate  of  the  class  of  1827.  He  was  originally 
a  lieutenant  of  the  6th  Infantry,  but  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  1st  Dragoons,  and  in  1853  was-^ 
Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  2nd  Dragoons.  He 
became  its  Colanel  in  1858  and  a  B.  Gr.  in  186 1,. 

Here  is  another  curiosity  of  history.  Although 
Ms  name  is  spelled  Cooke,  the  peak  and  spring,, 
etc.,  are  all  Cook.     I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt 
as  to  the  naming  of  the  peak.     At  all  events  I  have 
always  understood  that  it  was  named  for  him. 

I  think  General  Forsyth  served  at  Fort  Com- 
mings  sometime  after  1880,  He  was  Lieutenant 
Colonel  of  my  regiment,  and  for  several  years  the 
camps  was  occupied  by  a  detachment  of  the  regi- 
ment. He  may  have  been  there.  I  do  not  know 
whether  General  Read  ever  served  there.  . 

I  might  add  that  after  Fort  Cummings  wa&^ 
finally  abandoned  as  a  military  station,  the  spring 
was  acquired  by  the  railroad  company,  thorough- 
fy  cleared  out  and  roafed  in,  and  the  water  pump- 
ed to  one  of  its  nearby  stations.   *   *  * 

Your&  most  truly 

G.  G.  Gale, 
Colonel  U.  S.  Army,  ret. 


56 


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